Best dual axis bubble spirit?

[grat]

Are you claiming someone's pricing isn't on the level?

Just wait for the bubble to burst.

[Drew Bedo]

I can't believe that this thread has gone over 4 pages.

Just how big a deal can it be? Get a level. Us it as best you can till you find another that you like better . . .and use that one. As the labeled instructions read, "Lather, Rinse, Repeat"!

I once got a father's day gift that was a tpe measure with both a bubble level and a calculator built in. . . .and it was a cheap item too (father's day right?). Turned out to be really handy for LF. Used it till the calculator bit the dust. Now I use the horizon when out doors and an app on my cell phone when doing critical work inside. To nail down bellows correction a bit of cloth seamstress measuring tape takes up no space and weighs a few grams.

While my Kodak 2D and the Zone VI have been referred to as "furniture grade" by a bystander, as tools they are not what LF photography is about. The prints are.

[Drew Bedo]

OK . . .now we are all square, plumb and level.

Has anyone tested their shutters lately? Just how close o the marked speed sre your shutters?

I am using my fingers to figure this out now, but . . . .
1/500 should be 2 milli seconds right?
And 1/250 should be 4 milli seconds . . .
Setting 1/125 ought to be 8 milli sec.

Just how close are we on these slpit seconds?

[Doremus Scudder]

OK . . .now we are all square, plumb and level.

Has anyone tested their shutters lately? Just how close o the marked speed sre your shutters? ...

I test my shutters regularly (at f/22, which is close to my normal shooting aperture), average the results and note that average to the nearest 1/3 stop. The times get printed on a label, which gets stuck on the appropriate lensboard. I'm fairly sure that I'm within 1/3-stop or so when I set my shutter speed. That's close enough for black-and-white negative material (I might be more of a stickler if shooting transparency materials).

There is lots of imprecision and inaccuracy in all the aspects of metering and making a photograph. Fortunately, the window of acceptable exposure is wide enough that we can build in safety factors (usually simply by erring on the side of overexposure a bit) that compensate for the worst-case scenario of all variables being at their worst.

Still, I like to be as precise and accurate as possible, with the realization that there is always a rather significant margin of error.

Best,

Doremus

[grat]

All of my shutters (with one exception awaiting a CLA) are within 1/3 of a stop. So I just don't care.

[William Whitaker]

If your camera isn't level, you need a bigger ground glass!

[Alan Klein]

If your camera isn't level, you need a bigger ground glass!

Pls explain.

[Rick Rycroft]

Just how big a deal can it be?

What, leveling a camera? Well I like to have my images level when I want that. I've tried several of the accessory add-on levels and they all don't agree with each other so some or all of them must not have their mounts square.

[Drew Wiley]

Groundglass screens even with grid lines seldom rest in their frame exactly square, film in the holder is not necessarily perfectly centered and level, let alone truly flat, and most cameras standards themselves are not machined to high tolerances of level and plumb. Then you've got the probability of less than ideal levels. The mere glue thickness or tape on the back on one might mess up even a good one. Go figure. What counts if the shot does need to look level and square involves the internal proportions relative to one another. You basically have to level the image planes when printing anyway, that is, if it's the kind of subject requiring that.

[John Earley]

Although I only occasionally use a level I do have an electronic one like this when the need arises.
https://www.amazon.com/Klein-Tools-9...2842799&sr=8-9

It's surely not as accurate as my Starrett 8" machinist level but it is better than the tiny vials that came with my cameras. Since I carry my gear in a jogging cart the extra weight isn't a concern.